Page 59 of Be With Me

“What?”

“Why the hell are you here, Ailee?” Her trying to walk out on me like that had totally set me off. Not that I expected her to see me all banged up and have a complete change of heart, but I did expect…I don’t know…something. “Are you just trying to fucking torture me?”

That got her attention. “No, Tyler. That’s not what I’m doing.” Her voice had an edge to it.

“What are you doing, Ailee? I mean, I appreciate you helping Snickers. You know that. But you could’ve just taken him back to your place and called. So, I’m going to ask you one last time.” I paused for a breath, preparing myself for her answer. Good or bad. “Why are you fucking here? And please don’t give me anything other than honesty. I’m fucked up enough as it is.”

She didn’t answer, just stood at the edge of the curtain near the foot of the bed, head down.

“Ailee?”

Her head snapped up. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I wanted to see you.”

She was ripping my fucking heart out. “Why?”

She dropped her head again.

“Why, Ailee?” My lungs ached. I couldn’t breathe. She looked so defeated, standing there twisting her hands, looking at the floor. “Fucking tell me.”

With a sniff, she raised her head, and her blue eyes—bright with tears and something else I couldn’t identify—sought mine. “Because I miss you.” She was shaking her head before I could respond. “I miss you so much, Tyler. But I don’t know how…I don’t…”

She was killing me. Fucking killing me. I reached for her, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Ailee, come here.”

She shook her head.

My arm fell back to the bed and I slammed my head into the pillow. “What do you want from me, Ailee? Huh? I’m doing everything I can here.”

Silence greeted my question. And then, “I just want to be with you.” The words were spoken so softly, I barely caught them.

I raised my head.

She was staring at me, her beautiful face a mask of pain, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I just want to be with you, Tyler.”

Pain tore through me as she cracked open the hole in my chest with only words, even as the slightest light of hope filled it. “Then be with me, Ailee. All of me. Just…be with me.”

She wiped at her face, but it was a losing battle.

“Please, come here. Or you’re going to force me to hurt myself getting out of this bed to come to you. Because I can’t lay here a fucking second longer and not touch you.” I raised my arm, offering her my hand.

Stepping toward me, she took it.

Such a small connection, but I felt the touch of her fingers all the way to my bones. It was something. I wrapped my fingers around hers. “I’m so sorry, ‘lee.”

She frowned. “It’s not your fault you’re in here.”

“Not for that. I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess that’s my life. I’m sorry I’m not a normal guy. You deserve normal.”

She shrugged. “I had normal. It was boring.”

That hope in my chest brightened a little bit more. “What are you saying?”

It took her a long time to answer. “I’m not exactly sure, to be honest. I just know I’ve been…not happy without you around.”

“Well, I’ve been fucking miserable,” I told her. “But it was a good thing for you to send me away.”

Her eyes found mine. “Why do you say that?”

“Because I needed that time to get my head together. So to speak.”

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